Woods is president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit, one of the oldest in Houston and a United Way agency. It was founded in 1904 and primarily serves low-income families, children and adults.

"We're helping people to become independent and successful with what they choose as a family unit, whatever that definition might be," Woods says. "It really is about being a safety net - catching people before they fall into the trenches."

The Family Services umbrella covers a wide range of services, everything from car loans to marriage counseling to schooling. Hispanics are the most widely served demographic (53 percent), followed by African-Americans (24 percent), Anglos (19 percent), Asians and other ethnicities (4 percent).

An initial assessment determines what program will be the most beneficial for a participant, and it often branches into other areas a person wasn't even considering. Show up for career advice, and you might discover marital counseling, school-based services and financial coaching.

"We have the true wraparound that you hear people talk about," Woods says. "They're fabulous programs because they help people who have nowhere else to look for help. Somehow, they find us, and it's work that they do themselves. We don't do it for them."

The Family Services staff is fluent in English and Spanish, and a central phone number (answered by a live person, no less) directs callers to the appropriate department. Services are available in Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Waller counties, in seven offices and more than 30 area schools.

And schools are indeed an important arena, where specialists and counselors can address bullying (on both sides), substance-abuse prevention, homework and literacy levels. A new reading initiative at Bruce and Spring Shadows elementary schools, with plans to expand, encourages parents to read with kids at home.

"It's been the work that I was made for, so to speak. It's a very important passion of mine," says Alfredo Tijerina, vice president of school-based services. He arrived at Family Services after a stint in the ministry and working at a psychiatric hospital with children.

"We have so many children at the third-grade level who are not reading at the third-grade level," he says. "A lot of it is because parents aren't doing what they need to do in the home. Those children don't have enough books at home to read. There are a lot of issues."

A whopping 90 percent of students improved social skills and developed assets for learning, according to the agency's 2012 annual report. Family Services helped more than 80,000 people last year through programs such as substance-abuse prevention education (21,714 clients); school services (15,491); financial stability (15,259); Ways to Work (1,051), which provides low-interest car loans; and counseling (10,089).

Among the most addressed problems in counseling are marital issues and online relationships.

"When people come to you, they don't usually just have one need. They have often many layers of need," says Arlene Fisher, senior vice president of behavioral health services. "We can serve them so many ways here. We don't have to say, 'Go all over the city,' which is very difficult for people that have limited means and limited transportation."

"I came from a really altruistic family. I was always told to be thinking about people that weren't as fortunate as I was. My grandfather was a state representative and a mayor in Sweetwater. He did a lot of things, like fighting for (free textbooks). I'd always hear those stories, and I wanted to do something to help people."